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S 2554Benefit Programs

State Affairs and Government - The Medicaid Reentry Act

This bill keeps Medicaid active for people entering and leaving prison to ensure healthcare access immediately upon release.

Introduced
Population
Affected
8
Email Legislator
Introduced Feb 13, 2026Committee Senate Finance

Plain-English Summary

This legislation, cited as "The Medicaid Reentry Act," changes how Medicaid coverage is handled for individuals entering and leaving incarceration in Rhode Island. Currently, coverage is often terminated; this bill mandates that coverage remain active for the first 30 days of incarceration and be reactivated 30 days prior to an individual's release. The goal is to ensure immediate access to physical and behavioral healthcare upon reentry into the community. The state must apply for a federal waiver to implement these changes and utilize federal funding.

For younger readers

When people go to jail, they often lose their health insurance, which pays for doctors and medicine. This bill changes the rules so that the state keeps their health insurance active for a short time when they first go in. More importantly, it turns their insurance back on 30 days before they leave jail. This helps them get the medicine and doctor visits they need right away when they go back home, so they can stay healthy and get a fresh start.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Incarcerated IndividualsDepartment of Corrections StaffManaged Care OrganizationsMedicaid RecipientsBehavioral Health Providers
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
Amount unknown

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Significantly improves health equity for incarcerated individuals—who are disproportionately low-income and people of color—by ensuring continuity of care for mental health and substance use disorders upon release.
  • Strengthens the social safety net by replacing the punitive practice of terminating coverage with a suspension model, preventing bureaucratic delays that often leave vulnerable people without medication during critical transition periods.
  • Promotes community welfare and reduces recidivism by facilitating immediate access to behavioral health services and peer support, addressing the root causes of crime rather than just punishing the individual.
  • Relies heavily on the approval of a federal Section 1115 waiver, meaning the program's implementation is contingent on federal permission rather than being a guaranteed state-funded right.
  • The coverage window is limited to 30 days pre-release, which may be insufficient for establishing comprehensive long-term care plans for individuals with complex medical histories.
  • Funnels public funds through private managed care organizations to administer the benefits, which some progressives may view as prioritizing corporate intermediaries over direct public health provision.
For Conservatives
  • Potentially reduces long-term taxpayer costs associated with recidivism by stabilizing inmates' mental health and addiction issues before they return to the streets, thereby improving public safety.
  • Maximizes the use of federal funding participation to cover costs that the state might otherwise incur through emergency room visits or state-funded corrections healthcare.
  • Utilizes a waiver process that respects established federal rules and oversight mechanisms rather than attempting to unilaterally expand state entitlement programs without federal cooperation.
  • Expands government welfare programs to convicted criminals, providing them with state-facilitated health coverage that many law-abiding, working-class citizens struggle to afford.
  • Increases the administrative burden and size of government by requiring complex coordination and data sharing between the Department of Corrections and social service agencies.
  • Creates a "special class" of Medicaid recipients who receive expedited enrollment and discharge planning services funded by taxpayers, potentially viewed as rewarding criminal behavior.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 85 additions

SECTION 1. Title 42 of the General Laws entitled "STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: 42-56.4-1. Short title. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "The Medicaid Reentry Act." 42-56.4-2. Legislative findings and intent. The general assembly finds and declares that:

(1) Having access to same day and next day physical and behavioral health services is imperative to facilitate successful reentry for individuals released from incarceration;

(2) Suspending Medicaid enrollment for incarcerated individuals causes significant delays in Medicaid reinstatement upon release;

(3) Delays in Medicaid reinstatement impedes access to physical and behavioral health appointments and prescription medications upon release; and

(4) The intent of this chapter is to facilitate successful reentry by not suspending Medicaid enrollment for individuals who are incarcerated and providing Medicaid coverage for those reentering the community. 42-56.4-3. Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings:

(1) "Coverage" means and shall include, but is not limited to:

(i) Assessments;

(ii) Psychosocial counseling;

(iii) Medications, including long-acting injectable medications;

(iv) Peer support services;

(v) Discharge planning; and

(vi) Reentry services.

(2) "Medical assistance" means the medical assistance program provided by the Rhode Island medical assistance program, as defined under chapter 8 of title 40, or medical assistance provided by a managed care organization under contract with the Rhode Island medical assistance program.

(3) "Qualified inmate" means an individual who is incarcerated within the adult correctional institutions or a juvenile correctional facility. 42-56.4-4. Maintenance of medical assistance enrollment for incarcerated individuals.

(a) During the first thirty (30) days of a person's incarceration at the department of corrections or in a juvenile correctional facility, a person's incarceration status shall not affect the person's enrollment in medical assistance if the person is enrolled in medical assistance upon incarceration. The person's medical assistance enrollment shall be maintained throughout the first thirty (30) days of the person's incarceration.

(b) If a person is not currently enrolled in medical assistance upon incarceration, the executive office of health and human services, in consultation with the department of corrections, shall, upon the person's consent, determine the person's eligibility and enroll the person in medical assistance upon entry within the department of corrections. Once enrolled in medical assistance, the person's medical assistance enrollment shall be maintained throughout the first thirty (30) days of the person's incarceration.

(c) After the first thirty (30) days of the person's incarceration, the person's medical assistance enrollment is subject to suspension.

(d) The department of corrections shall, when possible, notify the executive office of health and human services of the individual's upcoming release from incarceration with sufficient time to allow the executive office of health and human services to update the individual’s enrollment in medical assistance from suspended to active status thirty (30) days prior to release. Upon receipt of the notification, the executive office of health and human services shall update the individual's enrollment in medical assistance from suspended to active status. If the person was unenrolled in medical assistance during their incarceration, the executive office of health and human services, shall, upon the person's consent, determine the person's eligibility and enroll the person in medical assistance. The individual’s Medicaid member information shall be provided to him or her prior to his or her release.

(e) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, the executive office of health and human services shall not be required to provide medical assistance benefits to persons who are incarcerated prior to the person's release unless the executive office of health and human services obtains final approval of a demonstration waiver under § 1115 of the Social Security Act, (42 U.S.C. § 1315) from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. No federal funds may be expended for any purpose that is not authorized by the state's agreements with the federal government. The executive office of health and human services shall utilize and maximize federal funding participation when available.

(f) The executive office of health and human services shall coordinate with the managed care organizations for the purposes of reconciling any potential financial implications of maintaining active coverage for the first and last thirty (30) days of an individual's confinement.

(g) The executive office of health and human services shall require through amending current and future medical assistance managed care contracts, that the managed care organizations meet the provisions of this chapter.

(h) The department of corrections shall make reasonable efforts to collaborate with the executive office of health and human services and managed care organizations for the purposes of care coordination activities, improving health care delivery, and release planning for persons incarcerated.

(i) The executive office of health and human services and the department of corrections shall provide all monitoring and evaluation reports required under the § 1115 demonstration waiver if the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services waives the inmate exclusion policy in their approval of the demonstration. 42-56.4-5. Medicaid waiver for coverage of qualified inmates leaving the department of corrections.

(a) Within ninety (90) days after the effective date of this chapter, the executive office of health and human services, in consultation with the department of corrections, shall apply for a demonstration waiver, under § 1115 of the Social Security Act, (42 U.S.C. § 1315), with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to offer, when possible, a program to provide Medicaid benefits to a qualified inmate for up to at least thirty (30) days immediately before the day on which the qualified inmate is released by the department of corrections.

(b) If the waiver described in subsection (a) of this section is approved, the executive office of health and human services shall provide all monitoring and evaluation reports required under the § 1115 demonstration waiver.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2027.